7. The rabbi that fasted for Ramadan
This summer Rabbi Natan Levy, an orthodox Jewish rabbi from Britain took the unusual move of fasting for the Muslim festival of Ramadan.
He told the Jewish News he was motivated to take part after witnessing a young Jew panic after noticing a devout Muslim visiting the synagogue he attends. Rabbi Levy, said he was “frustrated” at what he saw as a lack of engagement between Jews and Muslims and hoped that by fasting he would “create a touchstone for conversation” and counter the many negative images created by jihadist groups like ISIS.
He pointed out that “I am still eating on Shabbat [the Jewish day of rest from Friday night until Saturday night] so there’s a break for chicken soup”, the reason the rabbi chose to break Ramadan on this day is because Jewish law forbids people from voluntarily fasting on this day. The rabbi’s gesture was a beautiful way of highlighting how Judaism and Islam are both similar, but distinct. We commend him for providing us with his touchstone for conversation.
